Holst Statue
Friday 4th April 2009 was locally named "a day of plants and planets" when a full size bronze statue of Gustav Holst was unveiled in Imperial Gardens. The statue is the centrepiece of a fountain and surrounded by octagonal plinth depicting the planets. This has been made possible by the late Miss Elizabeth Hammond who lived and worked in Cheltenham and left in her a will a generous legacy to the Civic Society.
The Gardens also had the benefit of a variety of new plants and shrubs all thanks to contributions from two former residents of the town.
Cheltenham Horticultural Society match funded the £500 they received from the council's community pride fund, with £500 left to the society by the late Miss Allison, a former member of the Cheltenham in Bloom committee, for the restoration of the embankment planting area in front of the Queens Hotel. A variety of different plants supplied by Chris Pattison, nurseryman from Pendock, Gloucestershire will enhance this area of Imperial Gardens and add to the wonderful floral displays provided annually by the council's green environment team and Cheltenham in Bloom.